Southampton have ended West Ham United’s nine-match unbeaten run with a 3-2 victory at the London Stadium, moving into the Championship’s top six despite starting the season with a four-point deduction.
The Saints took control early and scored three first-half goals. Kuryu Matsuki, James Bree and Lewis Dobbin all found the net before the break.
Southampton began the season with the points penalty after spying on opposition training sessions. The incident also cost the club a chance of promotion in last season’s play-off final. The win moves Southampton within three points of the automatic promotion places.
Read More : Ronaldinho Makes Football Comeback
West Ham fought back in the second half. Kyle Walker-Peters and Tomas Soucek scored for the hosts, but they could not complete the comeback. The result ended West Ham’s hopes of moving to the top of the table. Fans booed at full-time, while large sections of the London Stadium were left empty.
“This is a tough place to come, against a quality team, and we knew we needed to start strongly, so we worked on that all week,” Southampton manager Tonda Eckert said.
His side had gone 2-0 up within the opening 10 minutes.
“They made it tough for us in the second half, so it was important that we stayed brave to bring the result over the line,” Eckert added.

Elsewhere, Burnley have dismissed manager Nicky Hayen after just 14 games in charge. The decision followed a 4-1 defeat at Lincoln that left the Clarets in the Championship relegation zone.
Burnley were relegated from the Premier League last season. Former Club Brugge manager Hayen won only one of his 12 league matches in charge.
“Burnley Football Club has dismissed head coach Nicky Hayen with immediate effect.”
“The board has taken the decision following a disappointing start to the Championship season, the club said in a two-sentence statement.
Meanwhile, Swansea City missed the chance to return to the top of the table after a heavy 5-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. Richard Kone scored a hat-trick within the opening 15 minutes. Jimmy Dunne then added two goals to complete the emphatic win. The result lifted QPR into the play-off places.
Elsewhere, Adam Armstrong scored the only goal as fourth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers beat struggling Watford 1-0. Wolves moved within two points of the automatic promotion places.
Trending 







